proceedings of the resilient cities 2013 congress · juan lacaze 13.196** 3.770 21,87% dep. of...

Proceedings of the Resilient Cities 2013 congress

Session: D3 Planning for resilient cities in Latin America and Asia

Presentation: Advancing on local urban climate change agendas

through multi – stakeholder collaboration.

Authors: Almansi, H.; Hardoy, J.

Abstract:

This paper describes the methodological approach and progress made so far in the Riberas´ project,

and the socio-institutional framework operating in four selected municipalities as we attempt to analyze

what is there to support effective climate change adaptation and what else is needed. The main focus of

the paper is placed on the multi-stakeholder process developed by the project. The Riberas project aims

to analyze the impact of climate change and variability on coastal areas of the Rio de la Plata:

Carmelo and Juan Lacaze (in Uruguay), Tigre and San Fernando (in Argentina); and through a multi-

stakeholder process draft local climate change adaptation guidelines.

Based on mid term findings (currently the project is on its second year of implementation), the paper

suggests the use of key activities as entry points to support the work of these four municipal

governments and particular at risk communities, in advancing on drafting local climate change

adaptation guidelines and include them within local development plans. The project involves generating

a local information base (hydro-meteorological, socio-institutional, economic, and urban,) and its

validation with different participating stakeholders to better inform local decisions, discuss present

disaster risk situations and future scenarios.

Keywords:

Climate change adaptation, flood risk, local governance, multi-stakeholder processes, Rio de la Plata.

Proceedings of the Resilient Cities 2013 Congress

Conference organizers: ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability

In cooperation with the City of Bonn and the World Mayors Council on Climate Change

ICLEI does not accept any kind of liability for the current accuracy, correctness,

completeness or quality of the information made available in this paper.

http://www.iclei.org/resilient-cities/

1 Introduction As climate change impacts are felt locally there is an increasing interest in advancing in local adaptation

plans and programs. There is some understanding of what such plans should include but much less is

known on how they are implemented and with what implications (Bulkeley 2010; Hardoy and Romero

Lankao 2011).This paper first describes the methodological approach and progress made so far on

the Riberas project to later focus on the socio – institutional arrangements operating in the study areas

and the strategies used to integrate multiple stakeholders in drafting local climate change adaptation

guidelines. It is important to assess what is there to support effective climate change (CC) adaptation

and what more is needed as we look for entry points to work in each particular study area in order to

start including CC adaptation in their local agendas. This is 36-month research project funded by the

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) that aims to analyze the impact of climate change

(CC) and variability (V) on coastal areas of the Rio de la Plata: Carmelo and Juan Lacaze (Uruguay),

Tigre and San Fernando (Argentina) and plan accordingly. For this it generates basic hydro-climatic,

socio-economic, urban, and socio – institutional information as it progressively involves stakeholders in

identifying local risks associated with floods and drafting local adaptation plans. The Riberas project is in

its midterm phase of implementation.

2 Study area The Rio de la Plata estuary is unique in terms of its size,more than 3 million km2, and the Rio de la Plata

River basin is the fifth largest in the world; its main rivers are the Parana and Uruguay. The Rio de la

Plata´s dimension, shape and low depth, favours the propagation of ocean tides (maritime dynamics)

into the river. Ocean tides, coupled with south-easterly winds generate a storm surge that drags water

into the river, raising water level and producing floods in low lying coastal areas in Argentina and

Uruguay. These events are known as “sudestadas”. In addition strong winds cause severe coastal

erosion and loss of beaches in the coast of Uruguay.

The main climate related hazards in the study area are associated with intense local rainfall, flooding of

major tributary rivers (Paraná and Uruguay), and “sudestadas”, which pose the greatest threat. The four

selected cities are all located in the estuary of the Rio de la Plata: Carmelo and Juan Lacaze in the

Department of Colonia in Uruguay; and Tigre and San Fernando in the north of the Buenos Aires

Metropolitan Region (BAMR) in Argentina (see Table No.1). Flood risk is expected to increase in the

next 100 years due to the combined effect of increases in the level of the Rio de la Plata (by 0.60 cm to

1 meter), and stronger winds and storm surges (Barros et al 2005). Information also shows

correspondence between exceptional stacking of water on the coast and strong winds in both sides of

the Rio de la Plata.







However, impacts are not only related to climatic variables so the Riberas project also looks at the

physical transformation of the territory due to urbanization and productive activities, socio - cultural

practices, institutional arrangements and the socio-economic conditions of the population, which make

some areas, and within these areas particular neighbourhoods and households, more vulnerable than

others. The four coastal municipalities share common problems such as pressures generated by urban

development and tourism in the case of Carmelo and Tigre; and the presence of economically

vulnerable population exposed to floods on low – lying areas of Juan Lacaze, San Fernando and Tigre.

On the other hand, they have important demographic, territorial, and institutional differences, while Tigre

and San Fernando are within a metropolitan area and have local autonomous governments; Juan

Lacaze and Carmelo are small municipalities, with recently elected authorities for the first time but still

legally and administratively under the Department of Colonia.

Table Nº1: General data of the study areas

Inhabitants Density inhab/km2 urbanized area

Population with UBN Informal settlements population

Tigre 376.381* 2.560 20,3% (2001) 15,00 %

San Fernando 163.240* 7.100 16,1% (2001) 8,00 %

Carmelo 16.866** 3.182 21,87% Dep. of Colonia 0,90 %

Juan Lacaze 13.196** 3.770 21,87% Dep. of Colonia 1,47 % *INDEC 2010. In the case of Tigre and San Fernando, density excludes delta islands. ** INE 2004

3 Project methodology

The project is divided in 3 overlapping stages. During the first stage we worked at a regional and

municipal scale, preparing a technical diagnosis, gathering and analyzing all relevant information and

identifying areas at risk from floods. To identify at risk areas we worked by overlapping hydro-

meteorological, socio-economic, and urban development information (present and future tendencies)1.

Information is geo-referenced and integrated in a visual format to work with local stakeholders.

1The hydro-meteorological component analyzed historical meteorological and flood records and is considering projections for

2030s, in order to produce maps showing potential flood areas with different recurrence and tendency in the frequency of events

with sudestada and intense precipitation. An index was constructed definingsocioeconomichomogeneous areas using census data:

overcrowding conditions, housing conditions, health care and dependency on head of household. The urban component identified

issues such as: population density, population with unsatisfied basic needs, land use patterns, historical flood risk, and topographic

levels. These variables wereintegrated in a preliminaryvulnerabilityindex.







Figure 1:Multi-criteria index map

Source: Riberas report (2012) - Indice de Evaluación Multicriterio. Mauricio Ceroni.

In addition we prepared a socio – institutional diagnosis to understand the structure operating in each of

the study areas that can support CC adaptation planning and actions. Also, in the process of preparing

the diagnosis, we confronted with key stakeholders preliminary findings of the other components of the

project and identified stakeholders with whom to continue working during the following stage of the

project. The initial diagnosis showed that there is correspondence between areas with high flood risk

exposure and socioeconomically deprived areas and coincide also with at risk areas identified by key

informants. It is also important to assess stakeholder’s capacity to influence planning and policy making

(Bartlett et al 2009).

During the second stage (present activities) we focus on specific at risk areas identified during stage one,

and we work with community groups, local government, private sector and representatives of various

governments and non- government institutions on risk perception, vulnerability and adaptation capacity,

to advance on drafting local adaptation plans during the third stage of the project. An economic

evaluation that points to potential economic losses of not taking action, aims to help identify needed local

actions. We confront local urban development scenarios with hydro-climatic information to start

discussing medium and long - term local adaptation actions.

These three stages in which we organize the work are crossed by two elements: a. the participatory

approach in the construction of knowledge; and b. local stakeholder training through their participation in

the project and as a strategy to strengthen local governance.

Much of what cities need to do in terms of adaptation is putting in place the infrastructure, services and

institutions to meet everyday needs. This needs to be planned and managed in ways that guarantee that







they will continue to work in the future, including coping with the increased risks and resource constraints

that climate change will bring or is likely to bring(UN−Habitat 2011). But most city governments, and

often neighbours’ and community organizations, do not see these actions as having anything to do with

climate change adaptation. Usually there is a lack of understanding of the co-benefits of adaptation

planning, urban planning and environmental sustainability (Sharma and Tomar 2010). Likewise, it’s

difficult to involve community groups in actions such as land use, disaster risk management (DRM) and

CC planning, as this are often seen as a government responsibility with no need of community

involvement. An important aim of the Riberas project is therefore to raise local awareness over the links

between urban and infrastructure planning, disaster risk management (including a good early warning

and emergency service), housing, etc., and highlight the role different stakeholders play. The need for

action on these crucial local aspects is used as the projects entry points, and serve a triple purpose: 1)

work on solving particular local needs identified by local stakeholders, 2) generate interest and

commitment with the project and therefore with working on drafting local cc adaptation guidelines, and 3)

tie project results to local development needs.

4 Socio-institutional component:

4.1 Institutional structures to support adaptation agendas

Effective urban climate change adaptation needs appropriate urban climate governance, understood as

“the ways in which public, private, and civil society actors and institutions articulate climate goals,

exercise influence and authority, and manage urban climate planning and implementation processes”

(Anguelovsky and Carmin 2011). Rather than governments making decisions in isolation, we are

thinking of engaged states negotiating its policies and practices with those who are party to or affected

by its decisions (Mitlin 2004).

An essential part of the Riberas project is to understand the socio-institutional framework operating in

the four selected municipalities as we attempt to analyze what is there to support effective cc adaptation

and what else is needed. We use a multi-level governance framework to better explore the linkages

between different actors operating at different territorial levels, horizontally across and vertically between

different levels of government as well as across a wide range of government and non- government

actors (Corfee-Morlot et al 2009). In the case of CC, given the cross – cutting nature of the problem, in

which different decision making and implementation structures simultaneously operate within the same

territory, it is essential to be able to adequately characterize these relationships.

The preparation of the socio – institutional component involves an analysis of the institutional structure

operating in each locality and working with local stakeholders to assess risk perception and climate







change adaptation actions, identify the project´s entry points, set up local working groups and draft

climate change adaptation guidelines.

Initially we prepared a socio – institutional diagnosis and a stakeholder map covering local government,

civil society, and existing networks with a mandate to address CC related issues (urban planning,

environment, early warnings and emergency management, etc). We also included national and sub –

national stakeholders that support or hinder local action. This was prepared through semi-structured

interviews to key informants from national and sub-national government levels and representing different

government areas, as well as with representatives of the private sector, community referents,

representatives of civil society, etc.

Some of the variables we looked into during the interviews were: institutional capacity, urban and

territorial planning, legal frameworks, integral approaches to urban – environmental problems and local

development, development of multi-stakeholder processes, and capacity to work with vulnerable groups.

We explored linkages between levels and sectors. We also looked into existing local plans, norms, and

regulations that consider DRR and CC.

The institutional structures operating in Uruguay and Argentina are quite different. In Uruguay the

attempt has been to integrate offices that have to do with planning, environment, disaster risk, water,

and climate change within one Ministry, and develop a wide array of legal tools to support the necessary

interaction between land use, water use, environment, disaster risk and climate change (e.g the

Territorial planning and development law - ley de Ordenamiento Territorial y Desarrollo Sostenible – Law

No 18.308 of 2008, the Water policy law - Law No. 18.610 of 2009, and the National Emergency

System Law, Law No 18.621 of 2009). Changes contemplate also the active participation of citizens in

drafting territorial plans, urban water plans and include disaster risk issues in the planning process. In

Argentina, on the contrary offices depending from different Ministries have initiated a common program.

They developed a Manual to work on vulnerability and adaptation at the local level and are attempting to

implement it through the participation of the different offices and the engament of sub-national

governments (Secretaría de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable 2011). Also the National Territorial

Planning law has been drafted by the Sub-secretariat of Planning and Public Investment, which aim to

incorporate climate change and disaster risk variables in territorial planning. Legislation regarding flood

risk areas depends from the sub-national (provincial) level and dates from the late 1950´s (Provincial

Laws N° 6.253 and N° 6.254).

There is an attempt in both countries to integrate various themes within planning that incorporates

disaster risk and climate change considerations, albeit each country follows a different path. However, in

both countries there is little practical implementation. Uruguay has taken a step further and is integrating







within one Ministry areas that are key in any attempt to better plan for climate change, has passed the

legislation and is now in the process of drafting local plans. Yet pace is slow and it is proving to be quite

difficult to implement the process as existing technical capacities and political support play a

fundamental role.

4.2 Community involvement and developing multi-stakeholder processes

Through workshops in selected at risk areas within each municipality we try to assess local adaptation

processes and how risk perception shapes these actions. Applying a participatory mapping process we

identify flood risk areas within the neighbourhood and other environmental risks that can exacerbate

floods (e.g. uncollected solid waste, clogged drainage channels) and localize barriers to water drainage

and structural measures to prevent floods, as well as institutions, evacuation centres, families with

special needs, etc.

At the workshops we discuss:

a) Information regarding disaster risk and climate change (memory of past flood events, changes in

frequency and intensity, problems associated with CC, knowledge regarding early warnings and river

water levels, and the functioning of the local emergency committee, existing resources and integrated

understanding of the problem Urban – environmental – disaster risk – climate change; b) Prevention

and adaptation practices at family, neighbourhood, institutional and municipal levels; c) Participation

(participation in planning and decision making regarding emergency actions associated to a hydro-

meteorological event, networking, communication between stakeholders, etc); and d) Local

governance (capacity to develop multi-stakeholder processes and articulate with vulnerable sectors)

In addition workshops are used as an opportunity to set up a committed local stakeholder group. Taking

in consideration the particular characteristics, needs and proposals in each study area, we prepare a

local working agenda. In all four cases, what to prioritize, how to proceed, and timing, is discussed with

the local participating stakeholders aiming to generate a process that responds to local needs and is

forward looking, incorporating notions of climate change. Therefore, each local working agenda identifies

specific short term tasks or actions that can be undertaken by the group, aim to respond to some of the

identified needs and are key elements when thinking of local adaptation. These are the projects entry

points to start working on drafting local CC adaptation guidelines and incorporating these in local

planning.

Entry points are issues local stakeholders want to work on (e.g. a people centred early warning system,

cleaning and maintenance of drainage channels, etc.) or special opportunities that come up while the

project is being implemented (e.g. preparation of local territorial plans and water drainage plans with







national support). These actions not only solve a particular problem but generate local commitment with

the Project, trigger new thinking and actions on CC and generate motivation to start advancing on

drafting adaptation guidelines. It helps to visualize how many different themes connect with disaster risk,

within a context of climate change and variability, and the role played by different stakeholders.

Figure 2 shows this dynamic process. There is a myriad of possible actions that can be used as entry

points.

As the process advances more actions can be incorporated (the spiral gets wider) and more

stakeholders get involved and work together (spiral width increases), generating synergies and involving

more themes and stakeholders. There is no one size fits all; each place develops its own process. The

spiral provides the idea of an on going process. Stakeholders and themes are not new, most exist within

local structures and local responsibilities, but they do not necessarily work together or integrate actions

within a broader planning process. The Riberas project has a specific time frame and gets involved in a

portion of the spiral, supporting specific actions and multi-stakeholder processes to solve present

problems while at the same time contributes to developing local adaptation guidelines. The idea is that

the goals achieved during the project implementation are appropriated by local stakeholders and trigger

further actions and planning that improves local adaptation plans.

As the project advances the information generated by other project components (hydro-meteorological,

urban and economic) informs stakeholders and supports the preparation of local guidelines for CC

adaptation. Access to specific technical information empowers stakeholders and contributes to narrow

the information gap.







4.3 How we are advancing in each municipality

In San Fernando,the Riberas project is working in an area at risk from “sudestadas”. The local

community is well organized and operates through a network of community organizations that meet

every week to discuss local problems. With them we organized a workshop with community

organizations and neighbours and mapped risks, defined problems, actions needed and roles. A second

workshop included local authorities (representing different local government areas) and representatives

of organizations involved during emergencies (e.g. coastal guard, firemen). We discussed the risk map

produced by the community, clarified roles and responsibilities, and identified and prioritized actions.

Today we are working along three main entry points: a people centred early warning and emergency

response system, cleaning and maintenance (solid waste collection and drainage channels) and trying to

extend the neighbourhoods sewage network.

In Tigre, we had several meetings with city officials and representatives of community organizations and

local institutions to discuss in which neighbourhoods to implement the project. Two neighbourhoods

were selected, one affected by floods produced by intense rainfall and overflow of local streams and the

other affected by sudestadas. We started to develop a strategy to strengthen the local early warning and

emergency response system, and start thinking on DRM and CC adaptation.

In both Juan Lacaze andCarmelo, the national and sub-national government are developing local

territorial plans and the water drainage plan (PAPU) for each city (MVOTMA 2011). Both government

and Riberas project teams are working together to develop risk maps, analyze risk perception and start

developing local adaptation guidelines. In parallel we are working with youths to raise awareness over

CC issues and planning a short film.

In Tigre and Carmelo, and somewhat less in San Fernando, the private real state sector, boat yards and

tourism activities add local development pressures.The Riberas project is trying to involve the private

sector in the project.

Source: Tambussi L (2012). Riberas project







5 Mid term project findings

Differences between municipalities and selected at risk study areas: Differences in scale and access to

local authorities as well as particular local cultures are relevant. A key aspect of the Riberas project is its

capacity and flexibility to develop processes not only suited to particular municipalities but also to

particular local neighborhoods and groups. This includes developing the needed relations with sub-

national and national structures.

Norms and plans at the local, regional and national level: In general, CC adaptation continues to be

marginal in national and sub-national agendas. There are some advances related to new national

institutional frameworks and programs but these are relatively new and still need time for actual

implementation. At a sub-national scale, DRM and CC adaptation are new agenda issues and constantly

compete for scarce resources. Legislation is either old or too new to be actually guiding policy, planning

and action implementation at the moment.

DR and CC local management structures: DR and CC adaptation are not yet integrated into local

development planning. Local governments do not have special financial resources earmarked to deal

with disaster risk issues, much less to start planning for CC. Within DRM one of the few activities local

governments focus on is on emergency response. There is not much integration of land use and

territorial planning with DRM in local development plans. Each stakeholder (both government and non-

government) intervenes over urban land in an un-coordinated way, trying to solve particular problems in

isolation and not always with the necessary information and resources, often increasing risks: for

example small informal dams built by individual families may in practice increase other neighbours flood

risk, or final floor - ground level of houses or real state developments may not contemplate changing

flood extremes or their impact on surrounding areas as they change local drainage patterns.

Information generation: Tensions generally exist between scientific information and the information

needed to guide local planning and action.Generally the rhythm and types of information generated from

the academic and scientific sector is not what local managers need, or includes local knowledge and

perceptions. Language used is often inappropriate. At the same time it is difficult to share information

between different disciplines. One of the goals of the Riberas project is to generate and integrate

information coming form different disciplines and sources and make it available in a language that is

useful to guide actions.

Sensibility regarding the information generated: Information generated by the Project is delicate in that it

informs over probable flood risk areas, which is often prime coastal land. This information, if correctly

used could lead to better land use norms that take into account flood risk and needed measures.







Therefore information has to be adequately explained and shared, understanding that it is a first draft,

based on existing information, not necessarily a finished product.

6 References Anguelovsky I and J Carmin (2011). Something borrowed, everything new: innovation and

institutionalization in urban climate governance, in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 3:

169 – 175.

Barros, Menéndez and Nagy (ed) (2005). El Cambio Climático en el Río de la Plata: Project Report,

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urban areas in low and middle income nations. Contribution to the World Bank Fifth Urban Research

Symposium Cities and Climate Change: Responding to an Urgent Agenda.

Bulkeley H (2010). Cities and the governing of climate change”, in Annual Review of Environment and

Resources, 35: 229–253.

Corfee-Morlot J et al (2009). Cities, Climate change and Multilevel Governance, OECD Environmental

Working papers, 14: 123.

Hardoy, J and P Romero Lankao (2011). Latin American cities and climate change: challenges

andoptions to mitigation and adaptation responses, in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability,

3:158−163.

Instituto Nacional de Estadística – INE (2004). Censo Nacional de Población. República Oriental del

Uruguay.

Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos – INDEC (2010). Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda

2010. República Argentina.

Ministerio de Vivienda, ordenamiento Territorial y Medio Ambiente – MVOTMA (2011). Inundaciones

urbanas: Instrumentos para la gestión de riesgo en las políticas públicas. Uruguay.

Mitlin D (2004). Reshaping Local Democracy (Editorial), in Environment and Urbanization 16 (1): 3-8.







Secretaría de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable; Subsecretaría de de Planificación Territorial de la

Inversión Pública y Subsecretaría de Desarrollo y Fomento Provincial (2011). Manual: Vulnerabilidad y

Adaptación al Cambio Climático para la Gestión y Planificación Local. Argentina.

Sharma, D and S Tomar (2010). Mainstreaming climate change adaptation in Indian cities, Environment

and Urbanization, 22 (2): 452–465.

UN−Habitat (2011). Climate change adaptation responses in urban areas, in Cities and Climate Change:

Global Report on Human Settlements 2011, UN−Habitat.

The author(s):

Mg

Jorgelina Hardoy

Senior researcher

IIED-América Latina

Email: [email protected]

Www: www.iied-al.org.ar

Mg

Florencia Almansi

Senior researcher

IIED-América Latina

Email:[email protected]

Www: www.iied-al.org.arg

Bio:

Jorgelina Hardoy is senior researcher within the IIED – AL team. Has a degree in Geography and a

MA from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her work involves developing multi-stakeholder

processes to improve environmental conditions, including disaster risk management and climate

change adaptation.

Florencia Almansi is senior researcher and coordinates de IIED – AL team in Buenos Aires. She

trained as an architect and is currently completing her doctorate in social sciences. Her work focuses on

land tenure and housing.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.iied-al.org.ar/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.iied-al.org.arg/

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